What are Beetles?
Beetles, known as Order Coleoptera, are the most diverse order in the animal kingdom, with the largest number of species. Over 350,000 beetle species have been described by science, with estimates putting the total number of species between 5 and 8 million. About 25% of all known life-forms and 40% of described insect species are beetles. Beetles are placed in phylum Arthropoda (arthropods), class Insecta (insects). Like other insects, they have a hard shell, open circulatory system, and are primarily small invertebrates. What distinguishes beetles from other insects is their hardened forewings (from which the order gets its name: coleo = shield + ptera = wing). Once, the biologist JBS Haldane was asked if he could say anything about God from his study of nature. Haldane replied, “He must have an inordinate fondness for beetles.” Discovering and classifying new beetles is truly a challenge for biologists, and hundreds or thousands of new species are discovered every year, mostly in the
Beetles are one of those familiar groups of insects which we all encounter regularly. The special feature that makes them beetles is the fact that their flying wings are folded up under a couple of armoured wing-covers (called elytra) when they are not using them. This protects the delicate wings from damage while the beetle goes about rough and tough activities like burrowing in the ground or boring into wood or biting your fingers. Most beetles are powerful, hard-bodied, compact creatures. They often have have a smooth body surface that may be brightly coloured. Entomologists classify all beetles in one big group called the COLEOPTERA.
